WHY CMS?

The first time around, I had written a brief intro going into why I felt compelled to write this blog about my very specific viewpoint: Charles Martin Smith is the sexiest man alive. I feel like it's appropriate to revisit that topic, this time in a bit more detail.

It started a long time ago, back in the mid-80s, when I first saw the 1983 Walt Disney live-action film, "Never Cry Wolf". I didn't remember it coming to theaters, but I did see it when it first popped up on cable TV in the spring of 1985. The movie really resonated with me at the time, and I found myself strongly attracted to the lead actor in the film, Charles Martin Smith. I may have seen him in films or TV shows before that, but this was the first time I really noticed him.

In the film, he played Tyler, an introspective biologist camped out alone in the Arctic wilderness researching wolves and their possible connection to the declining caribou populations. I thought Tyler was so incredibly sweet, so adorably nerdy, so compassionate, so sensitive... I totally had a teenage crush on him. And besides the charming personality, I found his physical appearance equally attractive: somehow both ruggedly handsome and boyishly cute at the same time. There was something both strong and also gentle about him.

I would have already been into him, but matters were helped further by the fact that CMS had a nude scene in the movie. A surprisingly revealing and extended nude scene. This was something totally unexpected, what with "Never Cry Wolf" being a Walt Disney film. The first time I saw the movie, I was dumbstruck. I watched it many times again, nearly wearing the videotape copy out. He was so overwhelmingly sexy to me. I can't even begin to describe how overcome I was at the time. CMS was probably the first serious crush I had on a guy.

Years passed and Mr. Smith retreated to the back of my mind, but never really left it. Over time, I saw him occasionally in roles he played in various movies and TV shows, and would remember those initial stirrings of passion, but it didn't really overpower me like it had before. I think after coming out of the closet, I was more than busy enough actually having sex with other men and didn't escape into sexual fantasy so much. However, I do feel like CMS left his mark on my tastes in men, especially when I started hanging out with other bears around 10 years ago. I found myself most strongly attracted to guys that had a similar look and personality: bearded, bookish, and bespectacled.

Somehow I didn't really consciously realize how much of an influence CMS had had on my tastes in men until I rented a DVD of "Never Cry Wolf" about 5 years ago. All these memories from my teen years came flooding back. Wow, Charles was STILL so sexy to me! I had recognized qualities in his personification of the Tyler character that I had been searching for in the guys I had been getting involved with throughout my life. I started getting obsessed with the movie, watching it frequently, ultimately finding myself more attracted to CMS than I was in my youth.

I began renting other CMS films and found that the handsome beard he sported in "Never Cry Wolf" was a rare occurrence, though he did still wear a sexy pair of glasses most of the time. Sometimes he would have some nice scruff action going on, such as in these super adorable publicity photos of him that I found. I see those eyes sparkling through his eyeglass lenses, and see that sweet and slightly goofy smile, and I just melt. I experienced a similar reaction watching him in the dozen or so performances on DVDs I bought or rented over the next year or two. I understand that Charles is not sexy in the typical sense, but that is part of the appeal. One of the reasons I like him is because he doesn't look like everyone else. Yes, I decided. In my opinion, Charles Martin Smith was indeed the sexiest man alive.

This seems to be an opinion not shared by some other people who have offered their negative comments in various forums online. Reviews and message boards on some sites had more than a few rude comments varying from mildly unkind to outright meanspirited. One that stands out in my mind was in a review of the "Never Cry Wolf" DVD on what used to be called UltimateDisney.com. The fella who wrote the article felt the nude scene was gratuitous and offensive. "I don't think anyone takes pleasure in seeing Charles Martin Smith's rear and genitalia," he complained.

He is wrong. Absolutely and completely wrong.

Guess what, Mister Reviewer? I take pleasure in seeing Charles Martin Smith's rear and genitalia. And much more. I take pleasure in all the cuteness, all the sweet sincerity, and all the adorable charm he brings to so many performances of his that I have watched. Throughout his life, from his 20s all the way to today in his late 50s, I have found CMS to be the epitome of attractiveness. In my mind, CMS is the quintessential adorable nerd. If you think guys with glasses are cute, then I think it really doesn't get any better than Charlie.

Working on the blog for over a year previous to now, I learned a few interesting things by looking at the stats. Some of the searchword combinations that lead people to this page: "Charles Martin Smith gay" and "Charles Martin Smith nude scene". I don't know how many of those people searching and ending up here were merely curious or perhaps looking for a laugh. But I imagine more than a few of the others were also gay fans of CMS like myself, or people who also felt like I did about the nude scene he had done in "Never Cry Wolf". I guess that's another thing inspiring me to get back to writing this blog. Even if these people never leave comments, I hope they enjoy reading my writings about his work and perusing the various cute pics of CMS I have been accumulating. I know the total pageview count since I started may not be terribly high (6,000+ over a year), but it does confirm that there are other CMS lovers out there.

I've pondered the question of whether or not I think Charles Martin Smith is gay. I think it is possible he is gay or bisexual, but ultimately I'm inclined to think he is not. There's not really any public information to support the theory that he is gay (beyond the fact that he always seems to attend premieres with his daughter and not a girlfriend). CMS seems to be a pretty private guy and it's been hard to get a definitive answer on the subject.

That's another thing: there isn't a whole lot of information about CMS out there beyond the basics. There's no fan club, no website, not even an autobiographical book published. Despite nearly a hundred appearances in movies and TV episodes over a span of 40 years working with many of the most talented people in the business. I was kind of surprised when I realized that my obsessive little blog was most likely the most extensive CMS page on the internet. That's another reason to restart the blog right there. Someone needs to represent, yo.

I don't know. As I reach the end of this entry, I feel like I haven't fully articulated what is behind my feelings concerning this particular actor. It's a difficult thing to put into words. On some level I am still figuring it out. That's another reason I am motivated to keep on blogging here as I get to the bottom of my attraction, so to speak. Which leads me to another way CMS has had an impact on me. In the last few years, Charles Martin Smith has served as a sort of muse. Not only did I start my first blog as I wrote detailed entries covering the first decade of his career, I have also made 2 short films about Charles and my interest in him. This was the first time I had done any filmmaking since taking some film school classes back in the '90s. The response from the people I have shown them to so far has been pretty positive. More on those in an upcoming entry...

I've been watching many more movies and TV show episodes featuring CMS. I have so far seen a significant portion of his 70s work and was just starting to dig deeper into the 80s part of his career. I figured I would revisit the first decade of Charlie's filmography on this blog in upcoming entries, perhaps in less detail than the first time around. Recently, I found rare CMS stuff that isn't on DVD (yay!), so you'll be seeing some new material among the reposted info and pics. There's still his most impressive and well-known work from the 1980s ahead of me, and a slew of acting and directing gigs in the 2 decades beyond that that I have barely even explored yet. I'm excited to dig in and experience it. As I work my way though, I'll be coming back here and sharing my thoughts along with some sexy CMS pics. I hope you enjoy reading.

See you next entry with more CMS love!